Dakar-Winning X-raid Mini All4 is Just Nuts

This is no ordinary Mini Countryman. These Dakar Rally-winning machines are unlike anything else.

The Dakar rally is downright gruesome. While the terrain is beautiful, the two week-long rally is very dangerous and any number of things can go wrong, such as death. Drivers need to be mentally strong in order to survive. But they aren’t behind the wheel of any normal car. No, they drive heavily modified trucks that basically only look like Mini All4 Countrymans. Underneath is a tubular frame and a suspension engineered to handle everything from massive sand dunes to a range of treacherous environmental issues.

Drive channel’s JF Musial paid a visit to Frankfurt, Germany-based X-raid, the Dakar-winning cross country rally team. Not only does he interview the people behind the team’s success, but Musial is given a fascinating behind the scenes look at these off-road chariots. The video is a bit long but it’s worth staying with.